197: Resolution on the Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Context of the World Heritage Convention and the Designation of Lake Bogoria as a World Heritage site

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African
Commission), meeting at its 50th Ordinary Session held from 24th October to 5th November 2011 in Banjul, The Gambia:

Recalling its mandate to
promote human and peoples’ rights and ensure their protection in Africa under
the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter);

Considering Article 22 of
the African Charter which recognizes that all peoples have the right to their
economic, social and cultural development and that States have the duty,
individually or collectively, to ensure the exercise of the right to
development;

Recalling its Decision on Communication 276 / 2003 - Centre for Minority Rights Development
(Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare
Council v Kenya (Endorois Decision), adopted at the 46th Ordinary Session
held from 11 – 25 November 2009 in Banjul, The Gambia;

Noting that
this decision affirms the rights of ownership of the Endorois to their
ancestral lands around Lake
Bogoria and that these
rights are protected by Art. 14 of the African Charter;

Noting Article
1 of the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the purposes and functions of the Organization,
according to which UNESCO shall “further universal respect for justice, for the
rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are
affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex,
language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations”;

Recalling the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a universal
international human rights instrument that has attained consensus among UN
Member States, and reaffirming
the African Commission’s commitment to fostering the values and implementing the principles enshrined
in this Declaration;

Bearing in mind Advice No. 2 (2011) of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, which calls on UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee to
establish robust procedures and mechanisms to ensure that indigenous peoples
are adequately consulted and involved in the management and protection of World
Heritage sites and that their free, prior and informed consent is obtained when
their territories are being nominated and inscribed as World Heritage sites;

Noting with concern that there are numerous World Heritage sites in Africa that have been
inscribed without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous
peoples in whose territories they are located and whose management frameworks
are not consistent with the principles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples;

Deeply concerned that the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session, on the
recommendation of International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
inscribed Lake Bogoria National Reserve on the World Heritage List, without
obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of the Endorois through their
own representative institutions, and despite the fact that the Endorois Welfare
Council had urged the Committee to defer the nomination because of the lack of
meaningful involvement and consultation with the Endorois;

1. Emphasizes that the inscription of Lake Bogoria on the World
Heritage List without involving the Endorois in the decision-making process and
without obtaining their free, prior and informed consent contravenes the
African Commission’s Endorois Decision and constitutes a violation of the
Endorois’ right to development under Article 22 of the African Charter;

2. Urges the World Heritage Committee and UNESCO to review
and revise current procedures and Operational Guidelines, in consultation and
cooperation with the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and indigenous
peoples, in order to ensure that the implementation of the World Heritage
Convention is consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples and that indigenous peoples’ rights, and human rights generally, are
respected, protected and fulfilled in World Heritage areas;

3. Calls on the World Heritage Committee to consider
establishing an appropriate mechanism through which indigenous peoples can
provide advice to the World Heritage Committee and effectively participate in
its decision-making processes;

4. Urges IUCN to review and revise its procedures for
evaluating World Heritage nominations as well as the state of conservation of
World Heritage sites, with a view to ensuring that indigenous peoples are fully
involved in these processes, and that their rights are respected, protected and
fulfilled in these processes and in the management of World Heritage areas;

5. Urges the Government of Kenya, the World Heritage
Committee and UNESCO to ensure the full and effective participation of the
Endorois in the decision-making regarding the “Kenya Lake System” World
Heritage area, through their own representative institutions;